AAC&U Survey Shows Need for Improvement

The Association of American Colleges and Universities kicked off its annual meeting on January 20, with the release of the findings of a national survey of executives at 302 private sector and non-profit employers who, by and large, say their employees need a broader set of skills and higher levels of knowledge than they ever have before. But, most surveyed said, colleges and universities have room for improvement in preparing students to be workers.

To AAC&U, which has long advocated for liberal education – at once educating students in a certain field and giving them a broader foundation of knowledge and skills – the results are a sort of vindication and coincided with its board issuing a statement, “The Quality Imperative,” that calls for the quality of student learning to be at the core of the national debate over the place for colleges and universities in the United States.

“It is time for us to match our ambitious goals for college attainment with an equally ambitious – and well-informed – understanding of what it means to be well-prepared,” said Carol Geary Schneider, the association’s president. “Quality has to become the centerpiece of this nation’s postsecondary education.”

Survey Results